Cloud Native Without Strings
Embrace Vendor Agnostic Cloud Native Solutions
Updated in July 2024!
Please explore my Cloud Native project (graduated, incubating and sandbox) articles below — I promise they’re not as fluffy as clouds!
Graduated:
- ArgoCD — https://medium.com/@raymondsquared/i-push-the-button-argo-cd-do-the-magic-deployments-942d81e26b8d
- Cloudevents (I’ll be diving deeper into it, which will be published soon)
Incubating:
- Crossplane — https://medium.com/@raymondsquared/dont-be-a-cloud-cowboy-tame-your-infrastructure-with-crossplane-ca7468413741
- Backstage (I’ll be diving deeper into it, which will be published soon)
- Open Telemetry (I’ll be diving deeper into it, which will be published soon)
Sandbox:
- external-secrets (I’ll be diving deeper into it, which will be published soon)
Could this be the new buzz word?
In today IT world, “cloud native” has becoming more popular as a solid concept reshaping how businesses approach software development lifecycle. Embracing cloud native practices involves leveraging cloud computing to manage applications and process that utilises the advantages of cloud environments. This approach promises flexibility and resiliency, but it also introduces complexities, particularly concerning vendor lock-in.
Challenges with tightly coupled to a single cloud vendor arise when organisations become heavily dependent on specific cloud providers for their infrastructure and particular services. This dependency can limit flexibility, hinder portability across different platforms, and potentially lead to higher costs and operational constraints. Avoiding these pitfalls requires adopting strategies that promote cloud agnostic architectures and operation standards.
How can you achieve this?
Adopting a cloud native approach involves designing applications and architecture as collections of loosely coupled, independently deployable services. Utilising technologies like containers and orchestrators such as Kubernetes facilitates portability and scalability across various cloud platforms. Embracing service oriented architectures, continuous delivery pipelines, enabling organisations to harness the full potential of cloud native environments effectively.
What is Cloud Native?
Isn’t it still just renting someone else’s computer?
Cloud-native computing is a software development approach that utilises cloud computing to create and operate applications in modern environments, including public, private, and hybrid clouds. This architectural style typically involves technologies such as containers, service oriented architecture (or better well known as micro-services), serverless functions, and immutable infrastructure, all managed through declarative code. The primary goal of cloud-native technologies is to reduce the operational burden on maintainers.
Cloud-native techniques facilitate the creation of loosely coupled systems that are resilient, manageable, and observable. With strong automation, these techniques enable engineers to implement high-impact changes frequently and predictably with minimal effort. This autonomy enhances system resilience, as issues in one domain radius do not necessarily disrupt the entire application stack. Furthermore, the modular nature of these systems simplifies management and monitoring, making it easier to track performance and identify problems, despite adding maintainability effort and a little bit of latency during transport.
Vendors
Yes, you can utilise both private cloud and public third-party cloud vendors, without being restricted to only a single provider.
Amazon Web Services
Microsoft Azure
Google Cloud Provider
Alibaba Cloud
1. Amazon Web Services (AWS): The Cloud Computing Powerhouse
Dominating the cloud computing landscape, AWS boasts a comprehensive suite — from raw computing and storage to AI. Its manages global infrastructure ensures high availability and low lag for customers worldwide. Scalability, security, and cost-effectiveness are importants, making AWS a go-to for diverse industries. AWS empowers businesses of all sizes to innovate rapidly and efficiently, minimising upfront IT infrastructure investments.
2. Microsoft Azure: Seamless Cloud Integration for Enterprises
Leveraging Microsoft’s deep enterprise expertise, Azure has carved a strong niche in the cloud market. It offers a vast array of services, including virtual machines, databases, and internet-of-things solutions, all seamlessly integrated with Microsoft’s familiar products like Office 365 and Active Directory. Azure’s hybrid cloud capabilities shine, allowing businesses to bridge on-premises and cloud environments flawlessly. With enterprise-grade security and compliance at its core, Azure is a trusted partner for global enterprises driving digital transformation, fundamentally altering how businesses operate and compete in the digital era.
3. Google Cloud Platform (GCP): Unveiling the Power of Data
GCP harnesses Google’s unmatched expertise in big data, analytics, and AI to deliver powerful cloud solutions. Its cutting-edge data centers and high-speed network underpin a robust service portfolio. GCP champions open-source technologies and embraces multi-cloud environments.
4. Alibaba Cloud: The Eastern Cloud Powerhouse with Global Reach
Leading the cloud service provider domain in China and holding a significant presence globally, Alibaba Cloud offers an extensive portfolio of cloud solutions — from elastic computing and data storage to AI. Its dominance in the Asia region and growing global influence make it a critical infrastructure partner for businesses seeking expansion in these markets.
Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)
The Pit Crew for Your Cloud-Native Race Car.
They Don’t Drive, But They Make Sure You Win!
The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) — https://www.cncf.io/ kicked off in 2015 as a Linux Foundation project with the mission to supercharge container tech and bring the tech world together for its evolution. It made its debut alongside Kubernetes 1.0, Google’s open-source container cluster manager, which they generously handed over to the Linux Foundation. The original crew included Google, CoreOS, Mesosphere, Red Hat, Twitter, Huawei, Intel, RX-M, Cisco, IBM, Docker, Univa, and VMware. Fast forward to today, and CNCF boasts over 450 supporters. To ensure top-notch representation of CNCF-governed technologies, they launched a special program at the first-ever CloudNativeDay in Toronto in August 2016.
Think of the CNCF as the base-camp for the cloud-native revolution. This non-profit organisation, under the wing of the Linux Foundation, fuels the development of essential tools for building and managing modern applications and infrastructure. Their most popular graduates? Open source projects like Kubernetes, the container orchestration platform that’s become synonymous with cloud-native development.
It also goes beyond just handing out tools and frameworks. They also made of a vibrant community of developers, operators, and enthusiasts through certification programs, conferences, and collaborative initiatives. This community with cloud expertise is constantly pushing the boundaries of cloud-native technology, ensuring reliability, efficiency, and openness for everyone.
By championing these principles, the CNCF is shaping the future of cloud computing, one container at a time.
